Finally my turn - What Car (DD)?

My DD is a '93 318i with 130k.

It's okay. 24mpg in town. 140hp in midsize car. Just as exciting as that sounds. It'll never be anything but a respectable looking DD and I'm cool with that.

I only got it because it had a ton of suspension, vader seats, everything was in good order, and it was only $2500. Any one of those things where missing and I woulda passed.

1990 -1993 Celica GTS. Get it fully loaded, it's the ultimate DD.

Not too fast, not so slow to put you to sleep. Handles very well, looks pretty. Good gas mileage, VERY nice interior, one of the best factory sound systems ever.

A MINT one might run you $4000. You can pick these things up all day long in great shape for $3000 or less, mileage doesn't matter with these motors, they last forever as long as you keep up on them, and you can spend the last $1000 on mild suspension or wheels/tires. :)

If a 2 door will work for you he makes a good point. Those 10" speakers in the doors are an interesting feature.

A SAAB 9000 Turbo! Has all the room you could ever want and then some, cheap, easy to maintain, fast, good mileage, and well i could go on and on.

belteshazzar wrote: If a 2 door will work for you he makes a good point. Those 10" speakers in the doors are an interesting feature.

8 inchers, but that's besides the point. :)

8" in doors, 4" in dash, 1" tweeters in mirror panels, 6.5" in back, and funky 1" tweeter pods in back, too. All powered by a 5.1 channel amp under the passenger seat.

If you need a 4 door, then you need a Saab 9000 or 7mge/manual Cressida.

a maxima will wax them both, get better mileage, and be more reliable.

Meh.... debatable when vs. a 9000 Aero.

But it's a great car nonetheless.

belteshazzar wrote: a maxima will wax them both, get better mileage, and be more reliable.

Better mileage? Maybe close to the same, depends on which year your talking about. But if I remember the newer Maxima's need premium fuel, where the 9000 CSE doesn't (Aero does though :( )

"need" is relative.

In a N/A car it's not as big a deal imo. A forced induction car I would never jack around with cheaper gas.

The Saab has the APC system... or Trionic, which means you don't have to run premium, or even mid. You'll just have less fun without it... no danger to anything.

We're just going to have to agree to disagree in regards to the fuel econ and reliability. My experience with the older Saabs v. friends with Maximas (and various other Nissans) has been different than yours, obviously. YMMV.

For conversation sake I'm curious what negative experiences you've heard about VQ max's?

I'll admit I've heard of some people complaining their 3.5 liter models got bad (mid-teen) gas-mileage. But those are '02+ MY cars, not what we're talking about here. On that subject though, my high mileage/former rental '03 has been averaging 20-21 in town for the two years I've owned it.

OK, crunch time is quickly approaching. Here is what I have so far in no particular order, let me know your thoughts please!

1) 1995 Saturn SC2, 5-spd, 133k miles, 25/35 mpg, $3,995 at a stealership (NADA & KBB say $2500-3100)

2) 1994 Honda Accord LX Coupe, auto, 97k miles, 23/39 mpg, $4,495 at a stealership (NADA & KBB say $4000-5100)

3) 1995 Nissan 240SX, 5-spd, 165k miles, 22/28 mpg, $2,950 private (NADA & KBB say $2600-3800)

4) 1999 Nissan Maxima, 5-spd, 119k miles, 22/27 mpg, $4,400 private (NADA & KBB say $4600-5600)

5) 1995 Nissan Maxima, 5-spd, 165k miles, 22/27 mpg, $3,995 at a stealership (NADA & KBB say $3900-4600)

6) 1998 VW Jetta, 5-spd, 93k miles, 24/31 mpg, $3,995 at a stealership (NADA & KBB say $4600-5800)

7) 1997 Lincoln Mark 8, auto, 135k miles, 18/26 mpg, $4,000 private (NADA & KBB say $3200-3700)

8) 1999 Mazda Protege, 5-spd, 125k miles, 26/30 mpg, $4,995 at a stealership (NADA & KBB say $3600-5200)

9) 2000 Ford Focus ZX3, 5-spd, 183k miles, 25/33 mpg, $2500 private (NADA & KBB say $2900-3300)

What would you choose?

Without question get the '99 Maxima. I had an '00 and I still miss that VQ engine. With some Stillen bits thrown in the mix that thing handled pretty decent and pulled like a freight train (enough to surprise or embarrass a lot of 'performance' cars). I only sold it because I caught the Miata disease.

IMO, except for the Protege, the rest of the list is crap.

and only if the protege is an ES. the mark 8 isn't bad if you like v8 muscle that can embarass a lot of "sportier" cars in a straight line. also from what i understand the v8 is the 32 valve 4.6 that also came in the n/a mustang cobras (325 or so hp)

just to add my .02 in agreement with several others. G20 and Maxima though is your requested 30 mpg city? highway? combined? and it will vary widely on your driving style too you can also add Subies into the mix as well

belteshazzar wrote: For conversation sake I'm curious what negative experiences you've heard about VQ max's? I'll admit I've heard of some people complaining their 3.5 liter models got bad (mid-teen) gas-mileage. But those are '02+ MY cars, not what we're talking about here. On that subject though, my high mileage/former rental '03 has been averaging 20-21 in town for the two years I've owned it.

VQ max has a crappy water pump design IMO. It's driven by the timing chain and when you do it you need to be careful not to let the chain slack or you get to redo the timing

Personally I'd get the 95 max, but talk the dealer down ALOT. around here they are sub 3k. My reasoning on the 95 over 99 max is 2 fold. 1. no immobilzer in the 95 which the 99 has and has problems 2. 95 is not OBDII which depending on your area may exempt it from emission testing , and will be easier/ cheaper to fix. it does still have the OBDII connector and codes though IIRC. I'm going to look at a 96 max tonight for >$750 :-p

I'll concede the pump may be a bitch to change, fortunately they last a really really long time. My 130k mile car still has the original one for example.

1.) Could be a good car. At least twice what I'd pay for it. 2.)I fell asleep just reading the add. No really, great car but hardly a value. 3.)Great car. $700-1000 too high 4.)HELL YES!!!! 5.)$800-1500 more than I'd give.
6.)okay-ish car. not my cup of tea. boring driver imo. 7.)chug chug chug chug I'd consider at $2.50 a gallon and with $1000 off the price. I've bought these for CHEAP in the past. 8.)Could be good.
9.)World record number of recalls and high miles? Meh. Could be okay but you've already listed better.

belteshazzar wrote: For conversation sake I'm curious what negative experiences you've heard about VQ max's? I'll admit I've heard of some people complaining their 3.5 liter models got bad (mid-teen) gas-mileage. But those are '02+ MY cars, not what we're talking about here. On that subject though, my high mileage/former rental '03 has been averaging 20-21 in town for the two years I've owned it.

I was there for the failures on a close friend's car. I'm not bashing them, so please don't think that I am. We took it on a lot of roadtrips and I spent some time around town in it. Comfortable, didn't rust after 14 years and tons of miles, etc. '92 (I think, was a 3l). Two transmissions, failed ECU, failed ABS brain, other electrical gremlins. It was a fine car and despite these (expensive) fixes, it chugged along averaging lotttttttts of miles/ year until it met its end under an SUV, which forcibly removed the front left suspension from the rest of the car. Oops.

Back to the OP... Your list... I wouldn't pass on any of those in good shape, aside from the Lincoln and the autoAccord.

That car had nothing to do with a '95+ maxima.

belteshazzar wrote: That car had nothing to do with a '95+ maxima.

I didn't mention anything about the 95+ Maximas in the post that you responded to.

I suppose that's what you meant by 'VQ maxs'. Sorry if it is. I don't know most of the engine codes and whatnot.

yeah, VQ is '95 and up, there was a complete redesign.

94-92 SE's where VE engine cars that technically had similar power to the VQ (though every one I've had felt a little more lethargic) and the car weighed more. Only good news is the bodystyle was sexiest imo, interior felt more upscale and the rear suspension was not similar to a vw like the later cars.

94 and older non-SE's where VG engine cars. A sohc iron block motor that was better suited to the hardbody trucks.

My vote is for the Protege..

I'd get the Mark VIII out of those choices, but I always thought those were nice cars. I had a '95 Thunderbird, which was similar in many respects.

92dxman wrote: My vote is for the Protege..

I definitely love mine. 258k miles and 32+mpg.

Protege, '95 Max, and a couple others were already gone when I started calling and visiting yesterday.

Ended up driving the '99 Max and agreed to a price with the seller and will be putting a deposit down Monday until my insurance check clears at the CU.

Will post pics later this week when I pick it up!

Also drove a '95 SW2 5-spd with 177k miles on it. In great shape really and drove well, just had a big patch of rust under the passenger side rear door threshold or whatever you want to call it. It was still #1 on my list though until I drove the Max.